Category: Speeches

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on which religious occasions prisoners are eligible for release on temporary licence; and how many prisoners were released on each such occasion in the last year for which information is held.

    Andrew Selous

    Faith communities can play a significant part in supporting offenders to resettle into the community. Facilities for worship are available in each establishment but, as part of restoring links between the offender and wider community, suitable, risk-assessed offenders may attend worship outside the prison to help them adjust to the climate of non-prison worship and mixing with the community. In addition, temporary release for the purpose of maintaining family ties might be timed so as to coincide with religious occasions. There is no prescription as to the nature of the religious occasion; it is for the governor, on the advice of the temporary release board, to decide whether the activity is linked to the offender’s resettlement plan.

    Records show that, in 2015, prisoners were released on temporary licence specifically in order to attend a religious service on 90 occasions.

    Releases on temporary licence (ROTL) recorded as "attend religious service", 2011-2015, England & Wales

    Attend religious service

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    Incidences of ROTL

    231

    217

    139

    228

    90

    NB. This is number of occasions a prisoner was released, not number of prisoners released.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to reduce congestion on the M25 motorway; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England is developing road schemes at several locations to help reduce congestion on the M25 including:

    • Upgrade of the M25 between junction 10 (A3) and junction 16 (M40) to a smart motorway, with start of construction before the end of 2019/20.
    • A far reaching study to look into the south-west quadrant of the M25 to address the increasing demand on this section.
    • An upgrade of junctions 10, 25 and 28 to have started construction by the end of 2019/20.
  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which former Deputy Prime Ministers have claimed expenses under the Public Duty Cost Allowance after leaving office.

    Ben Gummer

    The purpose of the Public Duties Cost Allowance is to assist former Prime Ministers with the costs of continuing to fulfil duties associated with their previous position in public life. Exceptionally, the then Prime Minister agreed that the former Deputy Prime Minister , the Rt Hon Member for Sheffield Hallam, should be able to have access to the allowance to recognise the special position he held in the Coalition Government. Other former Deputy Prime Ministers are not eligible for the allowance. The allowance is set at a maximum limit of £115,000 per annum. The amounts paid are a reimbursement of expenses, accounted for in the published Cabinet Office Annual Reports and Accounts. The former Deputy Prime Minister is eligible for the allowance from the date of leaving ministerial office for the duration of this Parliament.

  • The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the UK’s international aid budget has been allocated to multilateral aid, and primarily through which institutions, in each of the last five years.

    Lord Bates

    On average over the period 2010-2014, 40 per cent of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) was allocated to multilateral organisations. The table attached lists the top five multilateral organisations in terms of core funding.

    Figures for 2015 will be published later this year.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s press release, Petrol price signs on motorways, dated December 2014, what progress he has made of the pilot introduction of motorway signs that show comparison petrol prices at different service stations; and how many such signs are in operation.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government has been finalising the detailed design for trialling new traffic signs. Highways England has provided a further announcement on fuel pricing traffic signs on 2 November 2015. Drivers using a section of the M5, between Bristol and Exeter, will soon benefit from new signs showing the price of fuel along the motorway.

    The move is part of a trial by Highways England designed to give drivers more information to help their journeys and to boost competition on fuel prices. Five motorway service areas are involved in the trial which, depending on the results, could ultimately be rolled out nationally.

    Electronic message signs will show the price of fuel at Gordano, Sedgemoor, Bridgwater, Taunton Deane and Exeter motorway service areas.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 3.3 of National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review 2015, published by the Government in November 2015, which challenges set out in that paragraph he plans to tackle by the maintenance and replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system.

    Michael Fallon

    The UK nuclear deterrent has a vital role to play in the security challenges for the coming decade and beyond. It safeguards against state-sponsored nuclear terrorism; provides the ultimate insurance policy against potential Weapons of Mass Destruction threats from states to the UK and its vital interests including our NATO Allies, and helps to maintain the rules based international order.

    As stated in paragraph 4.64 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, other states continue to have nuclear arsenals and there is a continuing risk of further proliferation of nuclear weapons. There is a risk that states might use their nuclear capability to threaten us, try to constrain our decision making in a crisis or sponsor nuclear terrorism. Recent changes in the international security context remind us that we cannot relax our guard. We cannot rule out further shifts, which would put us, or our NATO Allies, under grave threat.

  • Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review the effect of the decision to discontinue GCSE and A-level qualifications in information communication technology on future levels of IT literacy skills for the workplace; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The rigorous new Computer Science GCSE and A level qualifications, backed by industry experts, will enable pupils to progress to further study and employment. The inclusion of Computer Science in the EBacc reflects its rigorous academic standards. The decision has therefore been made not to redevelop further IT qualifications in a related area of study.

    Through computer science, students will develop their computational thinking skills, learn to code and understand information technology topics such as cyber security, networking and data storage. There are also a number of vocational options for students at Key Stage 4 and opportunities for further specialism at Key Stage 5. For 14-16 year olds, technical awards have a focus on practical and technical subjects and offer an opportunity to gain experience and knowledge in areas such as digital literacy and web design. For 16-19 year olds, high quality vocational qualifications provide progression to higher education and employment and prepare students well for that purpose.

    This builds on our changes to the national curriculum where we have replaced the outdated ICT programme of study with a new computing programme of study. The new computing curriculum has been designed to facilitate innovation and creativity from both teachers and pupils and emphasise the importance of learning about the fundamentals of computer science.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government is taking to support charities in Northern Ireland.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    Support for charities is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Government does however, support the Big Lottery Fund (BIG), which plays a vital role in supporting the charity sector in Northern Ireland.

    The Chancellor announced in the Spending Review that BIG’s funding will be maintained and Northern Ireland will receive £27.3m.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time of cases in employment tribunals related to non-payment of the National Minimum Wage was in each of the last five years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The average clearance time of employment tribunal claims for non-payment of the National Minimum Wage1 in each of the last five years is as shown in Table 1 below:

    Financial Year

    Average time in weeks

    2010-11

    43

    2011-12

    41

    2012-13

    43

    2013-14

    32

    2014-15

    74

    source: ET Database February 2016

    1 "Suffer a detriment and/or dismissal related to failure to pay the minimum wage or allow access to records"

    In 2014-15 we reviewed outstanding cases and removed a backlog of very old cases from the case management system. The overall trend in average clearance time for single cases is improving and this can be seen in the Published Statistics at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials of his Department were employed specifically to assist with negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement

    Anna Soubry

    Prior to 1 April 2014 the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was handled alongside a number of other trade negotiations. On 1 April 2014 my Department established a Unit whose primary purpose is to assist with the negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership but which also handles certain other international matters. In April 2014 this Unit comprised 8 staff primarily working on TTIP and 4 working on other international matters. It currently comprises 10 staff working primarily of TTIP and 6 working on other international matters. Staff expenditure for this Unit in 14/15 was £793313, and in 15/16 is projected to be £916007. Total expenditure for this Unit in 14/15 was £886813 and in 15/16 is projected to be £926774.

    .